Even as police teams from three states — Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Uttaranchal — were searching for the missing IIT-Kanpur student, Arko Roy (24) returned to the institute on Wednesday night.

Roy told police that he had gone on a vacation as he “needed a break”. He also did not explain why he left without informing the institute, said police.

The final year student of computer science engineering was missing since September 9 and he had last contacted his father on October 3. Arko, who hails from Durgapur, took Gomti Express from New Delhi on November 4 to reach Kanpur.

While the IIT-K authorities have decided to hand over the issue to the disciplinary action committee, the police too have decided to question Arko as a missing complaint was lodged by the institute and his family with Kalyanpur police station on October 20.

“We are waiting for Arko to settle down and then we will question him to find out why he left without informing anyone,” said DIG (Kanpur) B P Jogdand.

During the investigation, the police found that Arko had visited Agra, Varanasi, Nainital, Joshimath and Rishikesh along with a British national, identified as Amy.

“It became a high-profile case and we had to take permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to approach the British and French embassies for investigation,” added Jogdand.

It is not clear, however, what possible action would be taken against him by the institute authorities.

“Arko is an adult and has the right to make his decisions. But he disappeared from the institute without any notice. His case will be taken up by our disciplinary committee, and once the investigation is completed we will take action,” said Partha Chakroborty, Dean of Students’ Affairs at IIT-K.

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